Trade unions are expected to finalise their consultations on the future of the public-service strike on Thursday.
The unions caucused on Wednesday night at the Public Service Coordinating Bargaining Council in Centurion, south of Pretoria.
Several unions attending that meeting said they were ready to suspend the strike, and some have indicated that they are ready to accept the government’s final offer, which includes a 7,5% wage increase.
”We have a mandate from our members to suspend the strike. We will obviously want do that together with other unions. We will wait tomorrow [Thursday] for the meeting with other unions. Hopefully at that stage something will happen,” said Manie de Clerq, general secretary of the Public Servants’ Association (PSA).
Congress of South African Trade Unions president Willie Madisha was also optimistic following Wednesday night’s talks.
”There has been a great deal of progress … but tomorrow when we meet we’ll be able to give you proper formal announcements … but I want to emphasise that there has been progress,” Madisha said.
Success Mataitsane of the National Union of Public Service and Allied Workers said the possibility of signing the government’s offer would also be discussed on Thursday.
”A lot of our essential [service] members have been dismissed. Our primary objective now is to get them back and if that agreement will get them back we will utilise that opportunity,” he said.
On Wednesday, delegates at the National Education, Health and Allied Workers’ Union (Nehawu) congress indicated they would accept the state’s latest pay offer for public servants.
Most delegates at a Nehawu congress in Pretoria voiced support for a motion to sign the pay deal and call off the current strike by public servants. — Sapa